Make Orbeez

Have you ever seen the commercial for Orbeez and wanted to try them? Orbeez are a toy made out of super absorbent polymers. They begin as hard little specks, smaller than a piece of rice, but when soaked in water they grow into a ball, just larger than the size of a pea. An edible version of this product, which you can make at home with natural ingredients, is called a "water marble" for its smooth texture and ability to absorb large amounts of water. This variety is a good choice for young children.

Steps

Making Store-Bought Orbeez

1. Buy Orbeez at the store. Orbeez should be available at any major toy or big box store.You can also buy them online from most toy store websites or general retailers. They come in a wide variety of colors. While you might want to attempt a trial run with just one package, many people enjoy mixing colors together.
   • Different colored Orbeez can be used for team games or in art projects.
2. Open one packet of Orbeez. Use a pair of scissors to open the packet, making sure not to spill any of the tiny Orbeez on the ground.
   • The Orbeez should look like large grains of colored salt.
3. Pour the Orbeez into a container with one cup of cold tap water. You will not see any changes immediately. Don't worry, it takes some time before the Orbeez start to grow.
   • If your Orbeez aren't fully round you may not have used enough water, or you may need to wait for more water to be absorbed.
   • Use pure water to make your Orbeez grow bigger. Distilled water will get you the best results.
4. Wait 4 to 6 hours until the Orbeez have grown to full size. They will grow 100 to 300 times their original size if you wait long enough, with a maximum diameter of 14 millimeters.
   • If your Orbeez are not entirely grown but are running out of water, feel free to add more. Too much water won't hurt the growth of your Orbeez.
5. Drain your Orbeez. There may be extra water at the bottom of the container in which you soaked your Orbeez. Drain it so that it doesn't spill when you start to play.
6. Play with your Orbeez! Run Orbeez through your fingers. People seem to enjoy the smooth sensation. There are a wide variety of other things you can do with your Orbeez, here are a few suggestions:
   • Take them outside and have a bouncing Orbeez contest with a friend. See how high you can bounce them!
   • Play mini bocce ball, where you and your friends try to get your Orbeez close to a target ball, like a marble. You can use different color Orbeez for different teams, and each team can take turns rolling the target ball.
   • Try playing bullseye with a friend and two different colors of Orbeez. Simply draw a bullseye on a sheet of paper and take turns with your friend trying to roll a Orbeez into the center of the bullseye.
   • Play Orbeez croquet with your friends. You can fold pieces of paper or use paper clips to create your course "hoops."
   • Create an Orbeez obstacle course, like putt-putt golf. Challenge your friends to get Orbeez through the course in as few tries as possible.
   • Use different colored Orbeez to play classic games, like marbles or Chinese checkers.
7. Store the Orbeez in an airtight container. When you are finished playing with them put them into a container with a lid. This will make your Orbeez last up to a week.
   • If your Orbeez accidentally dry out, don't worry. You simply need to resoak them to reactivate them.
   • Do your Orbeez smell musty or moldy? This is likely because of impure water you used. Try using purified water, and if you still smell mold, dispose of them.
8. Dispose your Orbeez in the trash or by reusing them in your garden. If you are sure you don't want your Orbeez anymore or they've become moldy, it's time to dispose of them. Orbeez are not intended to be disposed of through plumbing, so you shouldn't rinse them down a drain. Instead, throw them away or mix them into the soil of your potted plants, where they will help the soil retain moisture.
   • Orbeez were originally developed to slowly release water into soil, watering plants gradually. They will help the soil retain moisture, thus helping water the plants you are growing. If you mix them into the soil, you won't have to water your potted plants as often.

Making Homemade Orbeez

1. Buy dried basil seeds or dried tapioca pearls. These should be available at most grocery stores, but if you're having difficulty in your search, check specialty Asian markets. These frequently offer less expensive varieties than what you might pay for brand-named Orbeez.
   • The basil seeds will make very small, gelatinous water marbles. Basil seeds begin hard, black in color, and about the size of a grain of rice, but they will grow as they absorb water. Because they are so small, they are less of a choking hazard for small children.
   • Tapioca pearls are usually small, round, and colored white or off-white, ranging from one to eight millimeters in diameter.
   • Your homemade water marbles are made of natural ingredients, so it's OK if they are eaten. Make sure children have washed their hands before playing or eating water marbles to ensure cleanliness.
2. Soak the basil seeds in water. Put the seeds into any container, but make sure it has enough room for the water marbles to expand.
   • You do not need to worry about adding an exact amount of water. Make sure that you have added at least four times as much water as your seeds. If there is extra water when your beads are fully grown, you can simply drain the water away.
   • Put a few drops of food coloring in the water. You can also use a teaspoon of drink mix or a natural alternative to food coloring, such as beet juice for pink or turmeric for yellow.
   • Let the seeds soak up the water until they have grown to your liking. It will take at least several hours for them reach full size.
3. Boil the tapioca pearls in water according to package directions. By boiling the tapioca they will expand into balls of jelly.
   • Once boiled, let the tapioca pearls cool completely.
   • Like the basil seeds, you can color the tapioca pearls with food coloring, drink mix, or alternative colorants.
4. Play with your water marbles. They are great sensory stimulation for young children. Simply put the finished water marbles in a container and let your children play with them between their fingers.
   • Some of the games recommended for store bought Orbeez might not be ideal for your homemade batch. Starch can dry and leave a glue-like trail behind, so you should plan accordingly when you play games with your homemade water marbles. You might want to try:
     • Using your dyed water marbles to make art.
     • Cleaning hands before play and using your water marbles afterward as a treat in your own bubble tea.
     • Playing water marble checkers with different colors for different teams.
     • Water marble bingo, using the marbles as chips to cover squares that have been called.
5. Store your edible water marbles in the refrigerator. Like most foods, they will spoil (or sprout) if left uncovered or if stored for too long.
6. Dry your water marbles out when you are done using them. You should be able to reuse them at a future time if you dry them out before they spoil.
   • Spread them out of a pan and let them dry out at room temperature. On a sunny day you could even set the pan outside in the sun to dry.

Tips

• Some people have stated that you can make your own water marbles out of basic kitchen products. While doing this project may be a fun science experiment to attempt with your kids, it has proved to be largely unsuccessful.
• Put a dash of salt in the water that you are soaking your Orbeez in. The salt will make them last longer, but the finished product will be slightly smaller than they would be otherwise.
• Do not feed Orbeez to any pets or small children as they could get very sick. Make sure there is adult supervision when small children are playing with it.

Warnings

• Orbeez bounce, you should be careful not to drop them or spill the container.
• Do not ingest Orbeez. They are non-toxic, but are not meant to be consumed. Consult a doctor if you ingest a large number of Orbeez.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Make Three Dimensional Shapes With Magnetix
• Make a Marble Rollercoaster